Back to Basics

As of November 2018, JAFES is 9th in the Scimago Journal and Country rankings, among journals on endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism in the Asiatic region; and is 188th in the world (out of 232).

Over the last 3 years that we have been indexed in Scopus, we have been able to muster a Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) of 0.108 (in 2015) to 0.136 (in 2017). The SJR is a “prestige indicator” which measures the scientific influence a published article may have to global scientific discussions. Our citation and document index ranges between 0.167 and 0.179. This indicator counts the number of citations received by our articles over the total number of articles we published. This is roughly equivalent to the Journal Impact Factor^TM metric of Thomson and Reuters.

While the proportion has increased between our citable documents (original research, reviews, feature articles, case reports) and non-citable documents (editorials), the number of our cited articles still remains low. It is not that we cannot be found in the web. Our CrossRef membership and indexing in Scopus, Directory of Open Access Journals, APAMED Central, and Western Pacific Region Index Medicus, ensure that our contents are visible in online searches. Perhaps, further search engine optimization can improve our visibility.

Thinking beyond search engine optimization, and while remaining true to the JAFES goal of providing a platform for researchers in Southeast Asia, it would be crucial for us to re-examine the type of articles that the journal is publishing. Our articles have been mostly about clinical and observational studies. In comparison, most of the top endocrinology journals are publishing basic science research, down to the genome and protein level, elucidating the pathophysiology and mechanisms of disease. Those are basic, technically advanced, and potentially ground-breaking articles. It is apparent that JAFES needs to publish a good proportion of both clinical and basic science studies.

It is most important for us at the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies, to realize this critical direction, at this day and age where the value of research is highlighted, funding has increased, and cutting-edge technologies have become available to researchers. Our member societies and respective country training institutions should invest in research, specifically targeting more basic science research questions, among its academic and clinical staff, and trainees. Endocrinology fellowships should also establish research tracks and partnerships with research institutions. More interdisciplinary study groups should be established. Certainly, these efforts have been initiated by many and require years for meaningful results.

Returning to the matter of metrics, our “H-index,” which is a metric calculated by Scopus to measure the citation impact of publications of authors who publish in the journal, is currently at 1, a number that seems miniscule compared to other prestigious, well-established journals in the list. Renowned authors from the other side of the globe are not yet publishing in JAFES.

The potential is huge of conducting and publishing more basic research, possibly and partly in collaboration with more active researchers and authors from outside our region. The progressive accomplishments of JAFES may still be modest at this point, but give us hope and strength, and challenge us to go on.

We thank all of our authors, editors, societies, peer reviewers, and partners, for another productive year, as we look forward to a better 2019. Expect more innovations with JAFES.